To the Editor:
As a 14 year resident of Twin Lakes I have seen the water level rise and then fall. This last spring was the first time in many years that we have seen water flow into the lake. As I understand it the lake sits on top of an aquifer that supplies water for the Twin Lakes area. In periods of extreme drought any water that flows into the system first flows into the aquifer before filling the lake. Based on the current water usage and its affect on the lake, and thereby the aquifer, we are living with a dangerously balanced water supply. If more water needs are requested no amount of spring run off will be able to refill the system sufficiently to last until the next spring.
Now into this fragile system comes the request to develop 256 residences that will also begin siphoning water from the system. A water test was supposedly run that showed that for a couple of days water could be pulled out of the ground and then poured right back in again. How can this possibly compare to 256 homes pulling water from the aquifer 365 days a year? Who is going to do a proper unbiased evaluation of the amount of water available in the system now and for the future?
So I ask you who is ultimately responsible if this development is let to go ahead and the aquifer dries up leaving the new and current residents with properties that no longer have access to water? The developer will be long gone. Who will compensate the residents for the lack of leadership and judgment that lets such a development go ahead in such a water sensitive area?
Sincerley, Larry Arnett, Twin Lakes